BOSTON, Mass. — Sandinista!, recorded by The Clash
in 1980, was one of the most ambitious records in the history of rock
’n’ roll. According to one of its biggest fans, author
and journalist Jimmy Guterman, “It wasn’t necessarily
their best record, their best-selling record, or even their most enjoyable
record, but it’s an exciting, sprawling mess that I return to
constantly.” Guterman liked it so much, in fact, that he took
it upon himself to amass a tribute as ambitious as the album itself
— 36 tracks by nearly as many different artists.

On May 1, 00:02:59 Records — a label named after a lyric from
the Sandinista! song “Hitsville U.K.” —
will release The Sandinista! Project as a two-CD set, with
profits split between two charities — Amnesty International
(heartily supported by The Clash) and the Joe Strummer Memorial Forest,
which is a division of Future Forests, an organization fighting global
warming.

In preparing the Herculean task of commissioning 36 songs to correlate
with Sandinista!’s own 36, album producer Guterman
called upon artists with whom he’d admired over his years as
a journalist. Initial reactions were generally along the lines of
“That’s the craziest idea I’ve ever heard.”
The second reaction, following a brief pause, was “I want in.”

Guterman received enthusiastic commitments from such artists as The
Smithereens, Camper Van Beethoven, Jon Langford & Sally Timms,
Amy Rigby, Katrina Leskanich (Waves), Sid Griffin & Coal Porters,
Willie Nile, Matthew Ryan, Stew, Sex Clark Five and many more. Some
recorded faithful tributes, other nearly dada-esque abstractions of
the songs in question. And many boasted their own organic thread to
the Clash, the song in question or both.

For instance, Katrina Leskanich of one-hit wonders Katrina & the
Waves, seemed a natural for “Hitsville, U.K.” After all,
her hit, “Walking on Sunshine,” shared the same bass line
as “Hitsville U.K.” which was borrowed from Motown’s
“You Can’t Hurry Love.” Jon Langford & Sally
Timms from the Mekons took “Junco Partner,” originally
a James Booker new Orleans R&B hit, and returned it Stateside
as only two British punk expatriates can. Sid Griffin, a native of
Kentucky who has since migrated to the U.K., tackled “Something
About England,” a powerful ballad about British deterioration,
and turned it into a bluegrass stomp.

Singer/songwriter Matthew Ryan, who had already recorded “Somebody
Got Murdered” on his 2001 album Concussion, donated
the track intact. Labelmate Willie Nile’s streetwise take on
“Police on My Back” recorded for this project, also appeared
on his own 00:02:59 album released in 2006. Steve Wynn, frontman for
The Dream Syndicate and more recently the Miracle3, had been the subject
of a double-disc charity record, and got into the spirit with a cover
of “If Music Could Talk.” And if you ever wanted to hear
“The Call Up” performed on theremin, The Lothars provide
you that opportunity.

There is even a track from a dedicated Clash cover band, London Calling
of Chicago, whose “Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)”
displays what Guterman calls “a sharp, spirited cover by a sharp,
spirited band.”

And there are several more stories to be gleaned in The Sandinista!
Project’s 36 tracks — “Washington Bullets”
by Phil Rockrohr & the Lifters, “Kingston Advice”
by Camper Van Beethoven,” “Silicone on Sapphire”
by The Blizzard of 78 featuring original Sandinista! producer
Mikey Dread — all chronicled by Guterman in the liner notes.

Guterman sums it up: “Joe Strummer once said that Sandinista!
is ‘a magnificent thing. I wouldn’t change it if I could.’
And now, join us on The Sandinista! Project, in which we change everything
on that magnificent record.”